FASHION MAKES STYLE: LCF MENSWEAR

Discover the history of Menswear at London College of Fashion, UAL, from undergraduate study, through to bespoke tailoring and beyond

LCFMA17 Menswear Catwalk showLondon College of Fashion

Haili Jin, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Haili Jin/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Menswear at LCF

LCF has a long history in menswear, from preserving archive pieces like Louis III buckle shoes, through to cutting edge graduate collections that explore the history and potential of tailoring.

1961 Men´s tailoring class (1934) by UnknownLondon College of Fashion

"Savile Row has been synonymous with London style and the epitome of smart men’s dressing for two centuries, and London has been an international leader in menswear for just as long. For nearly 300 years from the mid-1500s the apprenticeship system was the accepted route into tailoring, and was regulated by law; it was forbidden to practice a craft without having served a period of time under a Master Craftsman. While it’s no longer governed by legislation, the apprenticeship system, as well as related college courses, remain the recognised means of entry to Savile Row. The Golden Shears prize is awarded biennially to the best emerging tailor, sponsored by the Merchant Taylors’ Company to promote new talent in the field, and British menswear retains its global reputation, producing some of the highest quality craftsmanship anywhere in the world."

Amber Butchart
Dress Historian & Associate Lecturer in Cultural & Historical Studies at London College of Fashion

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Chang Zhang, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Chang Zhang/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Next in line...

Explore the themes and inspiration behind our past graduate collections from 2015, 2016 and 2017's BA and MA menswear collections. As well as this year's MA18 menswear show. From experimenting with silhouette and colour, to technology, these students tell us what inspired them, in their own words.

LCFMA18 Menswear Backstage (2017-12-01)London College of Fashion

Backstage at LCF MA18 menswear catwalk show

LCF MA16 Menswear CatwalkLondon College of Fashion

MA16 Menswear Catwalk

Pahko Lee, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Pahko Lee/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Modern tailoring

Tailoring has evolved from formal-wear to the avant garde, exploring silhouette and cut through this traditional craft.

LCF MA18 Menswear Sohyeon Park (2017-12-01) by Sohyeon ParkLondon College of Fashion

Sohyeon Park explores class through tailoring for MA18

"The most influential thing was my father and social classes. Based on his story, I found out that 1970s Korea prevailed for strong division of social classes, and I applied this to my project."

Find out about Sohyeon Park's LCF News

Pahko Lee, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Pahko Lee/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Pakho Lee
"After substantially removing garment parts, what was left was the imperative entities that construct and give identity to a garment. My collection conveys my own and controversial definition of minimal fashion."

Find out about Pakho Lee's graduate collection on LCF News

Ziqing Zhou, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Ziqing Zhou/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Ziqing Zhou
"I'd describe my collection as Masculine, Sexy, Blue, Exclusive, Intelligent."

Find out about Ziqing Zhou's graduate collection on LCF News

Xiaozhou Su, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Xiaozhou Su/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Xiaozhou Su
"My collection is a combination of classical tailoring and the avante-garde. The style is created in response to an analysis of the male body, connected with the work of master artists and their individual understanding of how lines can be used to create a man’s shape. My garments reference ideas from Matisse and other fine artists."
Find out about Xiaozhou Su's graduate collection on LCF News

Jekeun Cho, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Jekeun Cho/LCFOriginal Source: http://www.arts.ac.uk/fashion/courses/postgraduate/ma-fashion-design-technology-menswear/

Colour

"The silhouette of my clothes is created from a depressed/hunched posture but the colours and tufted surfaces are very bright and delightful, to express happiness." Jekeun Cho

LCF MA18 Menswear Owen Hughes (2017-12-01) by Owen HughesLondon College of Fashion

Owen Hughes, MA18

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Went Tao Shi, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Went Tao Shi/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Went Tao Shi
"I chose the colours green and red. The late 1960s were the period of the Chinese cultural revolution – the government controlled people, and they just wore green, blue and black. Their inside lining was red so that’s why I picked this colour."
Find out about Went Tao Shi's graduate collection on LCF News

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Went Tao Shi, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Went Tao Shi/LCFLondon College of Fashion

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Went Tao Shi, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Went Tao Shi/LCFLondon College of Fashion

LCFMA18 Menswear Coline Gauthier (2017-12-01) by Coline GauthierLondon College of Fashion

Coline Gauthier, MA18

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Shu Yao, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Shu Yao/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Shu Yao
This is a unique fabric from China that is double sided and was dyed naturally in a river bed. The fabric was buried in the river bed, this is what created the colour. There are only ten dye workshops left in China."
Find out about Shu Yao's graduate collection on LCF News

Grant-James Povey, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Grant-James Povey/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Silhouette

"My silhouettes and coat style were inspired by Issey Miyake and Comme Des Garçons with Rei Kawakubo, looking at how form fits on the body and how costume fit in the late 1500s. I had to look at the role of the shoulders, length of the sleeves and the flare of the body too." Grant-James Povey, MA Fashion Design Technology Menswear 2016

Alexis Housden, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Alexis Housden/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Alexis Housden
"I started off by doing research on depression and moved on to looking at German expressionism, but then I started to look at veils and the way they are used in the west, so for mourning and weddings. There is clear evidence of that in my work which uses Tuiles for example but I didn’t just try and represent mourning and loss in my work I wanted to represent what happens after mourning and loss."

Find out about Alexis Housden's graduate collection on LCF News

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Soo Jin Cho, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Soo Jin Cho/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Soojin Cho
"I got many detailing ideas from romanticism and found a brilliant pattern idea on a hat that women wore. I brought this to the hood of my jackets, which feature many variations of very sophisticated details and pleats."
Find out about Soo Jin Cho graduate collection on LCF News

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Soo Jin Cho, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Soo Jin Cho/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Video by MA17 graduate Soojin Cho

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Changxi Shao, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Changxi Shao/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Technology

"My collection is called Spaceman. I really like the idea of creating something for the future." Changxi Shao

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Changxi Shao, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Changxi Shao/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Changxi Shao
"Working on pattern cutting and trying different garment structures has been the most enjoyable part of the course for me. I’ve really enjoyed exploring new ways of constructing garments and adding detail to them. What’s been really difficult is staying on top of my work/life balance."
Find out about Changxi Shao's graduate collection on LCF News

LCF MA18 Menswear Mengmin Lu (2017-12-01) by Mengmin LuLondon College of Fashion

Hengmin Lu, MA18

"It is inspired by Mao architecture and structure – I explored functionality and a way of dressing through pattern cutting."

Find out about Hengmin Lu's graduate collection on LCF News

MA17 Menswear Catwalk Show Changxi Shao, LCF MA17 FDT Menswear (2017-01) by Changxi Shao/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Bethany Williams, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Bethany Williams/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Bethany Williams
"Through traditional hand crafted techniques and working with local craftsmen/women, we have developed the surface of these waste materials to create hand crafted woven, printed, knitted and embroidered materials. This exploration has lead to the development of a new fabric constructed from cardboard which is hand woven in the UK."
Find out about Bethany Williams's graduate collection on LCF News

Victor Pao, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Victor Pao/LCFLondon College of Fashion

Victor Pastor Olivares
"My design explores integrated technologies such as bounding, laser cutting, printing, knitting (by computerised Stoll machine) and synthetic dyeing. Faulty printing and burnt edges are allowed, since they are a key evidence of my creative process."
Find out about Victor Pastor Olivares's graduate collection on LCF News

Peng Chen, LCF MA Menswear (December 2015) by Peng Chen/LCFLondon College of Fashion

The future of menswear

Students are exploring the future of menswear and making it their own.

Credits: Story

Course Leader MA Fashion Design Technology: Menswear
Course Leader BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology Menswear

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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